Dragon Age Redone
by bleeding-roses-16
Summary: This is an all-Origin dragon age fic, though not all the origins are Wardens. Here's what i think would have happened to the story if you added in all the background stories yet not all of them became Wardens.
1. Chapter 1

_**Disclaimer: I do not own anything Dragon age related.**_

_**A/N: I'm obviously still working on the story, but here's an updated version of chapter one.**_

Chapter one: Aeducan

**The favored child of the dwarven king, you proudly take up your first military command... only to learn that the deadly intrigues of dwarven politics can pose a greater danger than even that faced on the battlefield.**

Duran grumbled as he came to another dead end. He stared at the large pile of caved in rocks before turning around and going back the way he came. 'How the darkspawn make it anywhere without getting utterly lost is beyond me.' He thought irritably. He didn't know how long he had been in the Deep roads now, but he estimated that it was close to three days. His expression darkened when he thought about why he was in the Deep Roads, a place that no sane person (Other than a Warden) would travel alone.

He had been framed for the murder of his older brother, Trian, by his younger brother, Bhelen. Kinslaying was one of the worst crimes a dwarf could commit, not that it didn't happen all the time, just that no one let themselves be caught. Duran had been branded guilty without a trial and sent into Exile in the Deep Roads, a sure death. The only thing that had saved him was his good friend, and Second, Gorim, who was able to give him a sword before he was sent to his death.

As Duran fought his way through Giant Spiders, Deep Stalkers, and pockets of Dark spawn, he picked up any money he could find and while he briefly considered taking some of the armor of the deceased things, he didn't because they clearly hadn't been successful in keeping their original owners alive. So he spent his time trying to find the Grey Wardens that he knew were down here somewhere. At least, he hoped they were still down here, because if they weren't, his next best bet to staying alive would be to find the legion of the dead.

Duran froze, partway down the corridor and listened, he could hear metal clashing, obviously a fight was happening, so he rushed forward, keeping his wits about him, but eager to help. He quickly found the battle, a small group of wardens fighting off a number of dark spawn, and he jumped into the battle to help dispatch the last of the dark spawn before turning back to the group of Human men.

"Atrast Vala, Duncan." He greeted the Dark haired Warden that he recognized from the Nobles feast. Duncan looked surprised to see him.

"Atrast Vala, Duran. What are you doing in the deep roads? Is there another expedition?" He asked. The other Wardens looked at him curiously as he let out a low growl.

"No, I was exiled three days ago." Duncan's eyebrows rose in surprise, obviously knowing the consequences of a dwarf being exiled.

"You've lasted very well, for being down here on your own for so long." He said, his tone impressed. Duncan eyed Duran for a moment before crossing his arms and nodding. "Well, we are always in need of Wardens, and I think you would make a fine one."

Duran didn't even think about it before nodding.

"Yes, I was actually looking for you, in hopes that I could join."

"Then we should head back to the surface, you clearly need armor, and boots." Duncan said, eyeing the thread bare clothes Duran was wearing and his bare feet. He then turned to the other three wardens that were with him. "These are some of my fellow wardens, Aeden, Derrick, and Gale." He pointed to the other humans in order before turning back to him. "Are you in need of first aid?" Duran shook his head.

"No. However, I would very much like to leave this place." Duncan nodded sympathetically and motioned the others to move out.

As they walked, the youngest warden, who looked to be only slightly younger than Duran's own 32 years, with the raven hair fell into step beside him.

"If they fit, I have a set of boots you can borrow, until you get your hands on some of your own." He offered. Duran rose an eyebrow and looked up at him.

"You really think they'll fit my feet-" He trailed off, waiting for the mans name, since he hadn't paid much attention to who owned what name.

"Gale." The man supplied before looking down at their feet. "I don't reckon there's too much of a difference." He said, swinging his pack around and yanking a pair of boots out from off the top of his supplies. Duran nodded and grunted a thanks, he didn't relish the thought of wearing them without socks, but he'd take what he could get at this point. Gale seemed to know what he was thinking because he called out.

"Oi! Aeden, don't you have an extra pair of socks Duran here could borrow?"

The human who looked closest to Duncan's age with Blonde hair that looked to be greying prematurely looked back and nodded.

"Sure do. Don't need them back though." He said as he stopped and dug through his own pack real quick. Once he found his own set of socks, he tossed them to Duran and shouldered his pack. Duran once again grunted a thanks and quickly pulled them and the borrowed boots on.

"How do they fit?" Gale asked curiously as Duran tested them by walking a few steps normally then pivoting as though turning on an enemy then stopping abruptly, retying the laces and moving again.

"A bit long, but they'll do." He said. Gale nodded.

"Good. Can't imagine wandering around down here alone and without shoes." He said. Duran could see the curiosity in the man's eyes, but he wasn't going to indulge him. He still really didn't want to think about his exile.

"I can imagine worse." Duran said shortly, thinking about how lucky he was to at least been provided with a weapon. Gale seemed to understand that he didn't want to think about it and dropped the subject.

"Oi! Duncan, how much longer you think we'll be in here? I'm ready to see the sun again." Derrick, the man who also had Blonde hair called after a few hours of silence. Duncan paused and looked around.

"Maybe another day or so. We'll come out somewhere close to Redcliff." He said. He turned his head to look at the group. They seemed to be doing okay, but Duran looked as though he was starting to drag, but that wasn't surprising since he doubted the Dwarf had eaten or drank since being banished and was probably running on little to no sleep as well.

"We'll make camp here, eat and rest up a bit then head out again." He finally said when they came to a spot that was decent and protected enough from attackers.

The wardens nodded and started to take off their packs and set up camp. Duran just sat down, grateful for the rest, but not willing to complain. He was taken by surprise though, when a water can was shoved in his face. He blinked and looked up to see Derrick holding it out to him.

"Take it. I'll wager you need it." He said shortly, waiting just long enough for Duran to get a grip on it before spinning around and walking off to start the fire. Duran raised his eyebrow, uncorked it and sniffed it. When he deemed it safe, he took a healthy gulp of it, nearly sighing in relief as the cool water soothed his throat and moistened his mouth. As he sat, he studied the group, taking note of the dynamics of it and the chain of command[D1] . Duncan was clearly the Commander, despite the fact that it was actually his title, the others clearly respected him and trusted his leadership.[D2] Aeden also seemed to be the de facto second in command. He clearly wasn't the actual second, he just didn't have the 'I'm in charge, obey me.' Air around him. He also seemed to be more at ease with taking orders than giving, but knew how to do it when needed. Derrick was gruff and seemed to be more withdrawn, but constantly on the lookout. It was clear to Duran that he was a rogue, his eyes caught more than the other two warriors (he didn't count Duncan because he wasn't entirely sure just what he observed.) Finally, Gale seemed to be the youngest and most-light hearted. He was probably the friendliest and most open of the group and was the one that kept the rest of the group's spirits up.

After Camp was set up, Duncan quickly put together a stew and passed it out. Duran raised a skeptical eyebrow at how much food the four Wardens had, but put it down to them being humans. He was also relieved to see that Duncan had not given him a whole lot. Despite the fact that he was hungry, he didn't want to get sick from eating too much, too fast, too soon.

"How will we do watch this time Duncan?" Aeden asked after everyone had their fill. Duncan contemplated for a moment before saying,

"You'll do first watch, I'll do second, and Gale can do third this time, give a chance for Duran and Derrick to sleep. Then we'll switch it up again tomorrow. After that you can figure it out on your own when you head down to Ostegar." Duran frowned in confusion.

"Why are we going to Ostegar?" He asked. Duncan turned to him to explain.

"You and I aren't going immediately, but these three will be going down to join the rest of the Wardens and the Kings army fight to off an encroaching horde of Darkspawn. You and I are going to head to the Circle tower then to Denerim and the Brazillian forest to hopefully recruit a few more people and check on something before we head down to do your joining."

"What is the joining?" He asked. He watched suspiciously as the other three wardens traded significant looks before busing themselves with something else. Duncan looked at him seriously.

""The joining is a secret, but every Warden has to go through it. We pay a heavy price to be able to do what we do. But enough of that, rest and we can discuss the Wardens more as we travel."

Duran nodded and leaned back against the wall and fell into a deep sleep.

The next morning was silent as breakfast was quickly served and the camp packed up. Duran felt more refreshed than he had in a long time, with some much needed sleep, food, and water, he was feeling quite energetic. The only thing that dampened his enthusiastic energy was his apprehension about reaching the surface. He'd lived underground his whole life, and he didn't really want to lose his stone sense, but he was also curious about things on the surface. How did people live? What did daylight look like? The grass? The Ocean? What would it be like to mingle with races other than his own? With people who didn't automatically know who he was and treat him as a prince?

These were all questions that fluttered around in Duran's head throughout the day. The only time he wasn't thinking about it was when they fought little pockets of dark spawn. In what seemed like no time at all, and an extremely long time, all at once, little of pockets of light started to shine through the caved in spots, the cave floors started to incline until they came to the surface.

Duran stopped and looked around, blinking and shielding his eyes from the sun.

"You okay?" Gale asked, shaking him out of his stupor. Duran gave himself a small shake to knock him back into his senses before nodding.

"Yes. I've never been to the surface before." He said quietly, looking around. Despite his excitement of seeing and learning something new, his heart sank as the reality that he could never go home washed over him.

"Never?" Gale asked in surprise, also looking around. "I couldn't imagine that. I was going crazy after several days under ground." Duran smiled grimly.

"I suppose I'll feel the same way about being top side." He looked up into the sky. "I know it's ridiculous, but I can see why so many dwarves think they'll fall into the sky." Gale looked at him incredulously.

"Really? Why?" He asked.

"I suppose because you can't fall up with a ceiling over your head." Duran explained, finding the man's skepticism amusing.

"Have you never met a dwarf who just went topside?" Duran asked as he picked up his pace to catch up to the others that either didn't notice the two fell behind, or were graciously trying not to make Duran more uncomfortable. Gale shrugged as he kept pace with Duran.

"Nope. Only Dwarves I know were born and raised up here." Gale explained.

"So there's no other dwarves in the Wardens right now?" Duran asked curiously.

"There's one other dwarf right now, but he was born in Denerim." Duran's eyebrows rose in surprise, the Grey Wardens were held in very high esteem by most dwarves and to hear that there weren't that many was a surprise.

"I'm surprised that more dwarves haven't joined."

"We're still a relatively small group here in Ferelden. We had been banished, but the late King Maric brought the order back about 20 years ago. Unfortunately most people just don't see much need for us because until recently, there's not been a lot of Darkspawn activity." Duncan explained, catching everyone's attention. "Sorry to interrupt, but this is where we'll all part." He said. He turned to Aedan,

"You, Derrick, and Gale need to go to Ostegar." Duncan then pulled two sealed letters out and handed it to him.

"Give the top letter to Seamus, it'll explain what I'm up to, and the second to Alistair, his will explain my plans for the recruits and that I want him involved. You'll need to hurry though, I don't plan on taking to long, it should take us two days to reach the Circle, then three days to Denerim if I can secure horses, and a week through the Brazillian forest and four days to Ostegar. Plan for our arrival in two weeks though." Duncan ordered before turning to Duran. "You'll be coming with me as I hopefully pick up the last few recruits, it will give you a chance to get to know them better if they come and I'll be able to answer more of your questions."

"May the Maker protect you, Duncan." Aeden said. Duncan nodded to him.

"May he protect us all." Duncan said seriously. Gale turned and gave Duran a clap on the shoulder.

"It was a pleasure to meet you Duran, I'll look forward to meeting you again after your joining." He said. Duran gave a small smile and nod.

"I as well."

After everyone's good byes were said, Duncan and Duran, traveled North East to Lake Calenhad, to the Circle of Magi, to try and recruit some more mages for the army, and hopefully into the Wardens. During the trip, Duran peppered Duncan with questions about the Wardens, both the individual people and the Order, about what he would be expected to do, and about surface life. Duncan patently answered all of his questions.

The walk to Lake Calenhad had been a surprisingly quick one, Duran mused, mostly because he had spent the majority of the time asking Duncan questions such as what politics were likes, what various things were that he had never seen, what could/would be expected of him as a dwarf to act like around humans/elves, questions about the Wardens, and about the landscape. In turn, Duncan also asked questions about the Dwarves, Darkspawn, and the Deep roads. To Duran's great surprise, the circle of Magi was in the center of the lake, with no way to it other than to cross the lake with a boat, which he looked at warily.

"If I may, Duncan, I believe I would prefer to camp here, or stay at the tavern if you're staying the night." He stated. Duncan nodded in amusement, seeming to understand where he was coming from.

"I'll give you some coin to stay in the tavern, they might have some things you can stock up on." Duncan handed him a small pouch of coins. Duran nodded and turned and walked into the tavern, it didn't really seem as though anyone was really in there other than the barman, some shady human in the corner, and a young boy that was working hard at cleaning the tables.

"Ho there! What can I do for ya?" The barman asked.

"I need a room for the night, a hot meal and if you have anything to sell, I'd like to see what you have." Duran said. The Barman nodded and motioned to the boy who scrambled out of the room and motioned for Duran to come closer.

"Don't have much as far as wares go, but we do have enchanted amulets, rings and belts from right over at the circle, as well as a couple sets of leather armor and some Kadis." He said, leading him to a side room that had, literally, a couple sets of leather armor and various enchanted pieces all in locked glass boxes. He looked them all over and was pleased to see that one of the sets of armor was his size, though it was disappointing that it was light armor when he normally wore heavy armor.

'Something's better than nothing.' He sighed to himself, longing for his old Silverlite Dwarven armor rather than this rather basic made Rough Leather armor.

"How much for the Leather armor there? The whole set?" He asked, looking it over. The barman rubbed his chin thoughtfully before saying,

"Hmmm, this is a worn set, but it'll keep you safe, 50 silver."

"The make isn't that wonderful and it's made of cheap material. Worn armor is not always the best kept and is more likely to fail you when you need it. I'll pay 35 silver, no more." Duran haggled. The barman looked a touch conflicted, but seemed to know that the armor was not going to sell for much more than that because he agreed and gave it to Duran after making sure he had the right amount of money.

"Thank you sir, you look weary, should we have your meal brought to your room? Or will you stay in the bar?" The barkeep asked. Duran thought about it for a bit, but the call of a bed, was to strong.

"I'll take my meal in my room, thanks." He said, following the man back to the bar room.

"Tomas, show the Dwarf to his room, and take his meal with you." The man called to the boy who had just scrambled back into the room with a bowl of stew. Duran turned to the keep and said,

"I'm waiting for a human man, named Duncan. If he asks, tell him where I am." The keep nodded his understanding before turning back to his other patrons, and Duran turned to follow the boy.

"Here you go." The boy said as he opened a door at the end of the hall. He put the bowl down on the bed side table, and left before Duran could say anything. Duran stared after the boy in bewilderment and slight amusement before sitting down and scarfing his dinner down, grateful for the flavorful meal after having the same bland stew day after day. After finishing his food, he kicked his boots, which were really Gales, off and made himself comfortable on the bed, glad he wasn't on the ground again, and quickly fell into a light sleep, not caring that it was the middle of the day.


	2. Chapter 2

_**A/N: Chapter two is now updated**_.

Chapter 2: Amell

**Gifted with a power considered dangerous by most, you have spent most of your life secluded in the remote tower of the Circle of Magi to be trained and watched closely by the dreaded templars.**

Life in the Circle tower of Ferelden was boring. Or at least it felt that way to Dylan Amell. Most mages spent their time studying or practicing their magic while being closely watched by the Templars. Dylan, spent most of his time playing pranks on both Templars and mages, or working in the infirmary, treating minor wounds from poorly aimed spells or miss-blocked swords. When Dylan woke up that morning though, he could tell it was going to be a different sort of day. For one, there were whispers of one of the apprentice's going through their Harrowing.

Dylan had hated the Harrowing, and not only because they pretty much throw you to the demons to see if you could resist, but the surprise of going into the fade while knowing you could be walking to your death always made people a bit sick. Dylan knew the mage going through the Harrowing though. Mairi Surana was one of Dylans friends. A shy elven girl with a mischievous side, she, Dylan, and their friends Jowan and Anders, had quickly become friends.

"Dylan!" came a call behind him. He turned to look at who was calling him to see Jowan walking quickly towards him.

"Hello Jowan. What's got you so antsy?" Dylan asked, observing how Jowan fidgeted, his eyes darting around as they often did when he was nervous.

"Did you hear about Mairi?" He asked. Dylan furrowed his eyebrows.

"I haven't heard anything other than she went in for her Harrowing early this morning. Why?" He asked suddenly growing nervous, "She passed didn't she?" Jowan nodded.

"She passed, they just brought her back an hour ago, they're saying hers was one of the quickest and cleanest Harrowing's next to yours." Dylan smiled, relieved,

"Good for her! I knew she could do it. Now you just need to make it through yours and we'll all be full mages. Let's go check on Mairi." He said, starting towards the apprentice's quarters, but stopped when Jowan didn't follow.

"Wait, I wanted to talk to you. It's about my Harrowing." Dylan sighed and turned back to him.

"I've told you before Jowan, I can't speak about it. You'll find out when it's your turn." Jowan made a strangled noise from the back of his throat and looked nervously around.

"That's just it, though! I'm not going through my Harrowing, they're going to make me Tranquil!" He exclaimed quietly. Dylan inhaled sharply, looking around before pulling Jowan into his quarters.

"What do you mean?! How do you know this?" He hissed.

"I can't tell you, not yet. I came to tell you that the First Enchanter wants you and Mairi in his office. But afterwards, come meet me in the chantry." Dylan frowned in confusion.

"Why there? People are always coming and going from there."

"I'll tell you later. You should go get Mairi." He said before scurrying off. Dylan blinked, wondering what all that was about, before heading to go see Mairi.

He came into the apprentice's quarters just as Mairi was stirring.

"Wake up sleepy head! You don't want to miss your first day as a newly Harrowed mage because you were sleeping do you?" He asked cheerily. Mairi groaned and sat up, rubbing her eyes blearily.

"Dylan, do you have to be so cheery?" She asked softly, peering up at him. Dylan grinned mischievously.

"Of course! Now come on, apparently the first enchanter wants to see us in his office."

"But I didn't do anything!" Mairi protested, shooting up to her feet. Dylan laughed.

"Don't worry, I'm pretty sure we're not in trouble. But we should hurry up so it stays that way."

Mairi nodded and limped over to him, frowning and rubbing her hip and shoulder.

"Ouch! Why do I hurt?" She asked. Dylan grinned and let a wave of healing energy wash over her to help.

"You probably fell when you went into the fade. The stone floors not the kindest to land on." Mairi sent him a grateful grin before leading the way to the first enchanters office. On their way, Dylan caught sight of one of the younger Templars standing guard in the hall outside the library, and grinned. The awkward and shy way he held himself told him who it was, even with the Templar helmet.

"Oooh, look who it is Mairi! Lover boy!" He teased her. Mairi looked to where he was looking and blushed a deep red, the color so obvious on her pale skin.

"Oh, please don't embarrass me please." She pleaded.

"Don't worry, I won't say anything…. But you will." He said gleefully, steering the smaller girl towards the Templar.

"Good day, Ser Cullen!" Dylan said, grabbing the younger man's attention before Mairi could make her escape.

"Hello Cullen." Mairi squeaked out.

"Oh! Hello Dylan. H-hello Mairi." Cullen greeted back nervously. "Congratulations on passing your Harrowing, Mairi." He said, shifting from foot to foot.

"Th-thank you." Mairi said, peering up at him shyly. Dylan just smiled and kept silent as the two seemed to forget him.

"I-I should get back to my d-duties." Cullen said, his head turning as though wondering if his superiors were close by. Mairi looked down in disappointment but smiled in understanding after a moment.

"A-alright. I guess I'll see you l-later?" she asked.

"Of course!" Cullen said brightly before shying away again. "Or… well… yeah." He mumbled. Dylan took this as a sign to step in.

"See you later Cullen." He said before grabbing Mairi and dragging her away.

"Oh! That was so embarrassing!" She mumbled, hiding her face in her hands before she ran them through her short dark hair.

"Not to mention awkward! I wasn't aware it could take so long to say so little." Dylan said, laughing when Mairi whacked him in the arm.

"Don't! Don't! It's your fault! I was so nervous with you standing there with your face looking like that!" Dylan rose an eyebrow,

"And what does my face look like?" He asked. She growled,

"Like the cat that ate the canary!" Before they could tease any more, they arrived at the first enchanter's office, to see Knight-Commander Gregior, First-Enchanter Irving, and a human whom neither Dylan, nor Mairi recognized.

"-already have most of our senior enchanters, we've committed enough of our own to the war effort." Came Gregiors angry voice.

"Our own?" Irving huffed a laugh, "Since when have you felt such kinship with mages, Gregior? Or are you afraid of letting us out from chantry supervision where we can do some good in this world?" He argued.

Before Gregior could get more fired up, the unknown man stepped forward.

"Gentlemen please! Irving, it seems you have some guests." He said, indicating Dylan and Mairi. Gregior huffed.

"we'll speak more on this later, Irving." Before stomping out of the room. Irving just sighed and beckoned them closer.

"Good morning Irving." Dylan said with a mischievous grin while Mairi shifted nervously.

"Are we in trouble?" She asked. Dylan nearly face-palmed. 'don't ask that! You'll seem guilty.' He thought in exasperation. Irving chuckled.

"No, no. not yet at least, is there something I should know Mairi?" He asked. Mairi blushed and looked down, shaking her head.

"N-no. I only just woke up. Not enough time to do anything." She muttered, making the older men laugh and Dylan really did face palm at that.

"Mairi! That's like confessing!" He said causing her to duck her head and mumble an apology.

"No matter. Congratulations on becoming a new sister in the circle." He directed towards Mairi, who smiled proudly back.

"Are these the two you were talking about, Irving?" The dark haired man asked. Irving nodded.

"Yes, this is Dylan Amell, and Mairi Surana, their some of our most talented here in the circle. Dylan, Mairi, this is Duncan, the warden-commander. He is here recruiting for the kings army and for the wardens.

Dylan perked up and eyed the man with new interest.

"A grey warden?" He asked. "I'd love to be a warden!" He exclaimed. Mairi shuffled and clasped and unclasped her hands nervously.

"I think I'd rather stay in the circle for a few more years." She said. Dylan turned on her

"What do you mean?! Stay in the tower? No way, I'd love to be a warden, and actually use my talents for something useful!" He said. Mairi laughed nervously.

"Yes, and face darkspawn. I'll take my chances with the Templars." Dylan rolled his eyes and Irving and Duncan just laughed at him.

"I don't think I would want to have you both go." Irving said, "I was hoping to train one of you to eventually take my place as first-enchanter." He explained, getting surprised looks from the two.

"Wow! As nice as that sounds, I still want to be a warden." Dylan said. Duncan laughed.

"Well, we would certainly welcome you. But decisions don't have to be made right now. I'll be leaving to join my companion in the morning, before traveling to Denerim." The two looked at Duncan in interest.

"Who's your companion?" Mairi asked curiously.

"A dwarven friend that decided to join us from Orzzamar. Now, I'll leave you three to talk, I'm going to go rest, it's been a long journey." Irving nodded.

"Then I'll have Dylan show you to the guest room, I would like to speak to Mairi privately." He said escorting them out the door. Dylan winked at Mairi and grandly gestured down the hall.

"If you'll follow me good sir! Stay close or you might get lost, I mean, just look at how long this hallway is and… OH look! There's the Chapel, oh! And the store room. " Dylan exaggerated as they passed each area until they got to the guest room. "Aaand, here's your bedroom for your stay." He said as he opened the door and peered, making sure no one was going to jump out at him before entering. When he turned to face Duncan, he noticed his amused grin.

"Do you always check rooms before you enter them?" he asked. Dylan grinned,

"Most of the time, you never know when one of the templar's or other mages will try and get back at you for a prank or other planned mishaps you pulled on them."

"Well, it seems you've made the best of living here." Duncan laughed. Dylan shrugged

"There's too many serious people here, they really need to lighten up. So tell me, what's going on in Ferelden?" Dylan asked curiously. Duncan studied him for a moment before seemingly coming to a decision and nodding to himself.

"I forget that you probably don't get much news from outside the tower," He muttered before clearing his throat, "Unfortunately I can't tell you much as I haven't paid too much attention outside of recruiting for the Wardens. I can tell you that the king is amassing an army to fight an unusually large horde of darkspawn that have gathered in the wilds, just south of Ostegar. It's the largest horde we've seen since the last blight." Dylan nodded, frowning thoughtfully.

"Do you think another blight is starting?" he questioned. Duncan shifted and looked to be gathering his thoughts before he said carefully,

"We've not seen an archdemon yet, the King believes this is just an abnormally large horde." Dylan narrowed his eyes, noting that Duncan didn't say what he or the wardens thought.

"And the wardens? What do they say… or think…. or feel… or whatever it is Wardens do?"

"We believe that extreme caution should be used and the more forces we have, the better off we are. If it is a true blight, it would be best to beat back as much of the horde as possible before the archdemon makes an appearance." Duncan explained before folding his arms. "Now, I think I've kept you long enough, and I need to rest and gather information and supplies before I leave tomorrow afternoon." Dylan nodded and gave an elaborate bow.

"Then I shall leave you to it, good sir!" Then spun on his heel and strode out the door with his nose up in the air. He only made it several feet back down the hallway when he was stopped again by Jowan.

"You know, Jowan, I was just on my way to meet you in the chapel, I didn't forget." He said dryly. Jowan shifted and wrung his hands.

"Oh, good, we need to hurry though." Jowan said, grabbing Dylan's arm and practically yanking it out of its socket as he dragged Dylan down the hall.

"Ow! No need to cause bodily harm! I can move on my own and you need to relax, you'll draw unwanted and suspicious attention." Dylan said, yanking his arm back, straightening his robes and continuing to follow Jowan into the chapel and back to a corner where Mairi and a red haired initiate stood conversing. Dylan's eyebrow rose,

"You know, I'm not sure having this conversation with an initiate standing right next to us is very smart." He commented, taking in how the girl was shifting anxiously, her eyes darting around as though looking for listeners every few seconds. He then looked to Mairi who was standing in her new robes with her new staff and clearly didn't know what was going on by the look of slight confusion on her face.

"Now will you tell me what's going on?" Mairi asked impatiently. Jowan sighed,

"You know the girl I told you I met several months ago?" He asked. Dylan blinked and looked at the initiate incredulously, already able to tell where this was going. Mairi however seemed to be clueless as she motioned Jowan to go on with her hands. "Well, this is her, her names Lily." He said, introducing her.

"You seriously got involved with an initiate!?" Dylan whisper yelled, "You know that's forbidden!"

Jowan and Lily both tried to hush him as they looked around frantically.

"Quiet! You think we don't know that?" Jowan asked. Mairi frowned in disapproval at them,

"Is that what this is about? You two being involved with each other? Because you know what will happen if you're caught." She cautioned.

"We know, but that's not what this is about." Lily said,

"Is it about you being made Tranquil?" Dylan asked Jowan, causing Mairi's head to spin to him in surprise.

"What do you mean, Tranquil? How do you know?" She demanded to know.

"Lily saw the forms, Knight-Commander Gregior signed it and everything." He said. Dylan sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, this was far more serious than he liked things to be.

"Can't you talk to Irving about it?" Mairi questioned. Dylan, Jowan and Lily all shook their heads

"No, because than he would have to explain how he found out, which would get Lily in trouble and would also bring into question why she told him which might bring their relationship into the light." Dylan told her.

"Plus the First-Enchanter has also signed the form." Lily added. Mairi blew a piece of hair from her face as she took on what Dylan liked to call her thoughtful look.

"But why would they want to make you a Tranquill, usually you have to ask or have been dabbling in the forbidden magic's to get turned into one." She said, eyeing Jowan thoughtfully. Jowan looked a bit sheepish as he explained.

"You know the rumors going around that one of the apprentices have been practicing blood magic? Well, they suspect it's me that's doing it."

"But you're not, right?" Mairi asked. Jowan immediately denied the accusation, but now Dylan was watching him thoughtfully, 'as much as I don't want to believe it, where's there's smoke, there's usually fire. And Jowan is gullible enough to believe blood magic could help things.' He finally nodded,

"Then you have a plan, I suppose?" He asked. Lily nodded and hastily explained.

"We're planning on destroying his Phylactriphy. But we need to get into the repository and we can only do that with a Harrowed mage." Dylan nodded while Mairi looked ill at the thought.

"Oooh, think of everything that could go wrong! And if we're caught." She moaned. Dylan cocked his head.

"Actually, I think it's best if Mairi doesn't help." He said gaining surprised looks from the anxious couple and a thankful look from Mairi. "The fewer of us involved the smaller the chance of being caught. Do you have everything you'll need to break in? What about the keys needed?"

"We were thinking that if we got a rod of fire to burn the lock off, that would work, but it would be suspicious for an apprentice mage to ask for one." Dylan nodded in agreement.

"Alright then, I'll get everything put together, you two get ready and we'll meet in the repository at 7 o'clock tonight when everyone's at dinner." He told them before turning to Mairi,

"I need you to come with me Mairi." He said before spinning around and striding off, not having to look to know that Mairi was hurrying after him.

"Are you really going to help them?" she asked fretfully. Dylan frowned.

"No, we're going to Irving. As much as I hate to admit it, what they're doing is really dangerous, and Jowan's been acting stranger than usual and it's not all because of Lily. I want to make sure that if we're caught, you and I won't get punished too harshly." Mairi nodded and fell silent, chewing on her lip nervously as she followed him back to Irving's study.

"First-Enchanter, we have a problem." Dylan announced as he walked, unannounced into the room, causing Irving to look up from his desk where he was busy signing papers.

"Oh? What's happened now?" He asked, raising his eyebrows at them. Dylan paused to gather his thoughts and find the best way to phrase things when Mairi blurted out,

"Jowan's planning on destroying his Phylactriphy!" Dylan sighed in exasperation while Irving just looked at her in amusement.

"You couldn't have phrased it any better?" He asked before turning back to Irving, who he noted didn't look too surprised. "Jowan found out that he's going to be made Tranquil and is planning to run away from the tower and wants our help to do so."

"And I suppose the young initiate he's been dallying with has told him this?" Irving asked, clearly already knowing the answer. Mairi nodded,

"Yes, and she's planning on helping him then running away with him."

"I see, and what was your answer?" Irving questioned. Dylan shrugged,

"I told them that I would help, but it would be better to leave Mairi out of it so we had less of a chance of being caught. But I figured I would give you a heads up." Irving nodded,

"Good, I assume they have a plan in place, you should continue to follow the plan. I'll alert Gregior when the time is right and we can catch them in action. If one of our own should be punished, I will see one of Gregiors punished as well."

Mairi and Dylan looked at each other, understanding that, while they may not like it, it was a harsh environment they lived in and if they didn't look out for their selves, they would get stepped all over.

"Now, go on now, so you don't draw their suspicion." Irving said, shooing them out the door. After the door closed, Dylan turned to Mairi,

"Okay, so you should probably go move all your things into your new room and make yourself busy, and please don't do anything to draw attention to yourself." He pleaded. Mairi nodded and made to go, before pausing and turning back,

"Do you think their plan will work? The one with the fire rod?" She asked. Dylan immediately shook his head. He had been in the repository a time or two and knew what to expect.

"No, the door they want to blast through absorbs any and all magic, it has to be opened the normal way, but there's an artifact that will amplify the rods power, if we push it to face the wall next to all the phylactriphies, then it should blast a whole in it. I'll let them figure it out on their own, but I better start working on getting it out of the store." Dylan said, grimacing at the thought of dealing with Owain, who anymore was told that Dylan had to get permission from a senior enchanter in order to get anything out of the circle stores, he just caused too much mayhem otherwise. Mairi seemed to follow his train of thought and laughed,

"Good luck, but think of it this way, now you can just have Irving sign it without having to try and come up with a semi believable excuse." Dylan perked up.

"You're right! Oohhh, I could do so much with that…" He moaned at the thought of all the lost opportunities he was missing because of all this. Mairi just patted him on the back sympathetically and went to move all her stuff. Dylan waited for a few moments before going to get everything he would need for this little adventure.

Luckily it only took Dylan less than a whole hour to get the rod from the store and tell Jowan and Lily that the plan was good to go. The only thing left to do was wait, unfortunately for the rest of the tower, that meant several hours of non-fire related pranks by Dylan. Including, but not limited to- putting his homemade itching powder in Templar helmets, putting the cooking spices into differently labeled jars, conjuring a snow storm in the dining hall and convincing all the younger children to start a snow fight, and creating the illusion of a bunch of mice in the girls sleeping corridors. Safe to say, the whole tower was on edge and Dylan had been 'banished' to his room for the night and was to miss dinner. Luckily, this played into his plans because now people wouldn't be wondering where he was.

At 7'oclock he snuck his way down to the repository where he met up with an anxious looking Lily and a sick looking Jowan.

"Turn any greener and I would mistake you for a frog, Jowan." Dylan joked. Jowan threw him a nasty look but straightened up.

"Good, you're here. Now, I'll say the password, then you use any spell you want on the door." Lily said, getting straight to the point. She spun and held her hand to the door and said, "Sword of the Maker, Tears of the Fade." then turned and nodded to Dylan. He rose an eyebrow and shot a small bolt of lightning at the door, smiling at the thought of him and Anders joking about being able to just shoot lightning at fools whenever, as he did so. The door clicked and then opened, leading them straight to another set of doors.

"This is the door, quick, use the rod." Jowan urged. Dylan pulled out the rod and pointed it at the lock carefully, he wasn't entirely sure if the door would absorb, reflect, or counter the blast, and he didn't really feel like being fried. Luckily, the door just ended up absorbing the blast in a show of lights.

"Well, that didn't work." He said, turning to look at the others who had identical looks of barely concealed panic on their faces.

"It didn't work! Why didn't it work?" Jowan squeaked.

"Of course! How stupid of me, Irving and Gregior wouldn't both have to use a key if you could just use magic to open the door! Why didn't I think of that?" She breathed in exasperation. Dylan looked down the hall to where he knew was the way to where they needed to be and started down it.

"Well, here's another door down here, maybe we can look for another way in." He said.

"Brilliant! Your absolutely brilliant Dylan!" Jowan exclaimed excitedly as he grabbed Lily and tugged her down the hall, practically running. "Slow down! You don't know what we'll run into!" Lily hissed, trying to tug her arm back. Dylan nodded in agreement.

"She's right, Jowan. We don't know if the sentinels will attack us or not." He explained. Ten seconds later he regretted saying anything as they were indeed attacked by three sentinels. Dylan sighed in exasperation as he shot several ice spells at them before shooting them with lightning, effectively taking them out. "Remind me never to say anything like that again, I swear I just jinxed us."

Jowan and Lily both looked at him in disbelief.

"How did you do that so quickly?" Jowan asked, his tone slightly jealous. Dylan laughed,

"Anders and I spent almost a month practicing shooting those two spells as fast as we could. They're not very powerful by themselves, but put them together and they're a pretty deadly combination. You should see Mairi with her fire and ice spells! And she actually packs more of a punch than Anders or I could get." He said, proud of how well she did when she did finally convince the two to teach her. Lily shook her head,

"Unbelievable." She muttered, "Well, come on, we better hurry."

Dylan just sighed and led the rest of the way, taking out the various sentinels that would start attacking them, before entering the room where all the old artifacts were stored.

"Wow! Look at all this!" Lily exclaimed softly, looking around curiously. Even Jowan looked amazed. Dylan, however was getting antsy, and immediately found the statue of a sitting hound.

"Look here! This statue should be able to amplify the power of the rod!" He said, walking around it and examining it before looking around at the walls, trying to figure out which wall was the one next to the Phylactriphies. He spotted a huge bookshelf and walked over to it, trying to look behind it, and nodded when he saw the cracks along it. "Look! A weak spot on the wall, if we can move the bookshelf, we should be able to break through the wall." He said. Jowan and Lily hurried over.

"Good job! The Phylactriphies should be on the other side of the wall!" Lily said, standing back to watch as the boys worked to move the shelf.

"Uggh! I seriously need to work on my strength if a bookshelf like this can defeat me." Dylan moaned as he nearly through his shoulder out pushing the bookshelf out of the way, even with Jowan's help. Lily made an irritated noise in the back of her throat.

"Can't you ever be serious?" She demanded to know. Dylan threw her an equally irritated look,

"Can't you lighten up? You're not making things any easier by being nervous and snapping. All it does is make everyone tenser and that means you'll start making mistakes, so chill." He snapped at her, getting an irritated look from Jowan.

"Leave her alone, Dylan." He warned. Dylan rolled his eyes, he really didn't know what Jowan saw in her, and they both knew it was pointless for Jowan to threaten him because they both knew Dylan could take him down without hardly lifting a finger.

"Then let's get this over with." Dylan muttered and went and positioned the statue before gently pointing the rod at it and letting off a blast of fire. He nearly yelped when the small, steady stream of fire was suddenly high power blasted at the wall, completely shattering it. They all stared at where the wall used to be.

"Well, that certainly worked." Dylan said dryly. Lily scowled at him before striding through the new entrance and nearly jumped in joy.

"This is it! There's the Phylactriphies!" She said. Jowan smiled and sprinted up the steps and over to the table that held several of the little bottles.

"And here's mine!" He said, picking it up and staring at it in awe, as though he couldn't believe he had it. "To think, my freedom is in this tiny little bottle." He muttered before dropping it and watching it smash on the floor. Lily squealed.

"We did it! Now let's get out of here and no one will be any the wiser." She said. Dylan just nodded, not really wanting to face the upcoming confrontation, but he knew that what he did was right, so he just slowly followed them out of the basement.

Of course, just as they were walking out, Irving, Gregior and three other Templars showed up.

"There they are! You were right Irving, an Initiate, and she doesn't look to be under a thrall, and with a harrowed mage as well! Think of all the damage they've done." He said angrily. Jowan and Lily looked like the world had just been ripped from under their feet while Dylan was just relaxed.

"Yet, they have been caught, and no more harm has been done for it, and all on account of said Harrowed mage." Irving defended. Jowan shot Dylan a wounded look.

"You told them?! I thought you were my friend!" He said. Dylan gave him a regretful look as he moved to stand next to Irving.

"I'm sorry Jowan, but you've been far too suspicious lately, something needed to be done." He said.

"And you! What's your excuse?" Gregior demanded of Lily.

"W-we just w-wanted to be together. Please, don't send me to Aonar!" She pleaded. Gregior scoffed,

"You think you'll have a choice? And after having taken vows." He motioned to the Templars to grab her, which set Jowan off.

"No! You can't take her!" He shouted, pulling a knife out and sliced his hand open before directing an attack at the Templars, Irving, Gregior and Dylan, blasting through the shield Dylan had tried to raise and knocking them all back onto the ground several feet away.

"Jowan! What have you done?" Lily asked in horror, stepping back from him.

"I did it for us, Lily! I only just dabbled." Jowan said pleading for her to understand. Lily shook her head and stepped back. Jowan gave her a pained look before running away.

Dylan had to take a few seconds to process what just happened, but was slightly miffed that he didn't see this coming sooner. He quickly jumped to his feet and helped Irving up. Gregior and the other Templars where already standing and two of them were already chasing Jowan.

"Blood magic! To think it's so powerful." Gregior muttered angrily, turning to snap at Irving, "Are you pleased with yourself? If you had only let me act sooner, and to think, we don't even have his phylactriphy anymore."

"Don't forget you agreed to wait. Don't place all the blame on the First-Enchanter!" Dylan argued, wanting to defend his mentor. However, this just caused Gregior to turn on him.

"And you! This wouldn't have happened if you hadn't helped him!" he yelled, causing Dylan to go on the defense.

"Hey, I was just doing what I was told! I could have kept my trap shut and let them escape." He told them. Irving also said,

"There's no need to punish Dylan, Gregior, he is a loyal member of our circle and has done us a service by bringing this to our attention."

"He needs to be punished!" Gregior demanded.

"I'll take him." Chimed a new voice, causing everyone to spin around, only to see Duncan striding towards them. "A warden must be loyal to their cause, even at the cost of friendship, we would be pleased to have him." He explained. Gregior started to turn red at the new development.

"No! We're not losing anymore mages!" He stated. Duncan just raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms, clearly conveying how unintimidated he was.

"You have no choice, either let him come freely, or I will just conscript him." He said bluntly. Gregior scoffed before turning to Lily, who had been standing quietly off to the side.

"And you! What do you have to say for yourself?"

"I-I have seen what I have done wrong, and, and I will submit myself to whatever punishment you deem necessary, even Aenor." She said softly, looking so heartbroken about everything that Dylan felt sort of bad for her. Gregior nodded, pleased that at least one person was accepting his judgement.

"Good, now that everything has been resolved…" Irving said, turning to Dylan and smiling proudly at him. "I would suggest you two leave before anything else happens." Dylan snorted

"You mean before all the rest of my pranks have been discovered?" He asked in amusement "Alright, don't let Mairi take the blame though, please? And tell her I said goodbye."

"Of course, I would suggest coming back at a later date, to properly say your goodbyes, but leave enough time for her temper to cool, or you might end up on the receiving end of one of her fire spells." Irving said, accurately predicting what Mairi's reaction would be to being left alone with no goodbye.

"Than we should leave now, we can join Duran in the Inn before heading to Denerim." Duncan said, as he motioned Dylan to follow him.

"Good thing I have everything I need, don't need to be caught by darkspawn without my underpants." Dylan said sarcastically, though quietly pleased with how everything turned out.

To his surprise, Duran didn't wake up until several hours after dinner, and he only woke up to a knocking on the door. He quickly grabbed his weapon and strode over to the door, opening it carefully, only to see Duncan with another, blonde haired, brown eyed human.

Duran studied them for a moment before stepping aside to let them through.

"So this is your Dwarven friend?" The human asked cheerfully. Duncan nodded and introduced them

"Yes, Duran, this is my newest recruit, Dylan. Dylan, this is also one of my recruits, Duran."

Duran nodded his acknowledgement to the other man.

"Pleasure to meet you!" Dylan said cheerfully before looking around the room. "Are we staying here for the night? Or moving on?" He asked. Duran looked to Duncan in question, if they stayed in this room, they would have to decide who got the bed, or go buy more rooms, if they left that night though, they wouldn't get far before having to stop for the night.

"Since I didn't intend to leave tonight, I'll go get us two more rooms, we'll leave at dawn tomorrow for Denerim." Duncan said, striding out the door, leaving the other two to a slightly awkward silence.

"So, were you born on the surface? Or in Orzamarr?" Dylan asked, clearly trying to start a conversation. Duran gave him an amused grin.

"Orzamarr. I've only been top side for three days." Dylan blinked in surprise before gaining a mischievous grin.

"Is that so? I'm surprised you haven't fallen into the sky yet. It takes magic to keep you on the ground, you know." He said.

"That might work on dumber dwarves, but you're a few too many decades short to trick me verbally, boy." Duran said, giving him a deadpan look. Dylan grumbled, obviously playing because the look hadn't gone away.

"Don't worry, I'll get you somehow. Just you wait."

Duran huffed out a laugh, "that'll be a long time coming, kid."

"I'm not a kid." Dylan said, scowling at him.

"To me you are. How old are you kid?" the Dwarf asked. Dylan crossed his arms.

"Twenty-Three. And you?"

"I'm Thirty-two." Duran laughed. "I still get to call you kid."

"I'm glad to see you two getting along. However, it would be best for us to all get some sleep. Tomorrow we'll head to Denerim first thing in the morning. I've secured us some horses for the distance so we can get there the day after." Duncan said as he strode back into the room. Duran scowled at him.

"Horses? Don't know how to ride." He said. Duncan rose an eyebrow and looked over to Dylan who shrugged.

"I use to ride before I was brought to the circle. I'm sure I can remember quickly."

Duncan nodded in acknowledgement before turning to Duran again. "We'll help you out Duran. For now, Dylan, this is your key. It's for the room across the hall. I'll be in the room to the left of this one." He said, passing the Mage his key, nodding to the both of them and heading to his own bed. Dylan turned and gave a mock salute to the Dwarf.

"Good night, good ser." Then went to his own room. Duran huffed and chose to get some more sleep, he had a feeling he'd need it the next day, if horses were to be involved.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: here's an un-beta'd Chapter 3. Hope you like it and please leave a review.

Chapter 3: Tabris

**You have always lived under the heavy thumb of your human overlords, but when a local lord claiming his privilege with the bride shatters your wedding day, the simmering racial tensions explode in a rain of vengeance.**

"Wake up, Melody!" was the first thing Melody Tabris heard that morning, and all she wanted to do was roll over and try and fall back to sleep. Unfortunately, all doing so did was cause the person trying to wake her to yank the covers off her and then yell in her ear, "WAKE UP, SLEEPY HEAD!"

Melody screamed in surprise, trying to roll away from the abrupt sound and ended up rolling off the bed.

"Ouch!" she groaned, getting to her knees to peer over the bed and glare at her cousin, Shianni. "Damn it Shianni! You couldn't have just let me wake up on my own?" She asked irritably as she stood up and walked around the bed to sit on it next to Shianni. Shianni just grinned

"Nope! Now come on Melody, don't tell me you've forgotten what today is?" She said. Melody groaned and flopped back on the bed.

"Don't remind me! Today's the day I get married." Shianni nodded and went over to the chest at the foot of the bed and opened it to get the dreaded wedding dress out.

"Yep! So get ready, your father wants you to be dressed, find Soris, and go meet your husband to be." Melody shot back up,

"He's already here? I thought I had until this evening at least!" she said, grabbing the dress and quickly putting it on. "I'll talk to you later Shianni!" She said as she grabbed a small money pouch for just in case and hurried out the door.

She was quickly making her way past the event stage when two older elves stopped her.

"Melody! Is that you?" The woman called to her before she could pass. Melody paused and turned to look at them, they were both greying with a good amount of wrinkles, but neither of them struck Melody as familiar.

"Do I know you?" she asked, walking back to them. The woman smiled warmly at her,

"Yes, though the last time we saw each other you were only about four years old. I am Dana and this is my husband Ian. We were good friends of your mothers, before she passed." she explained. Melody blinked in surprise before slowly grinning, glancing between them.

"You knew my mother?"

Ian nodded, "Yes, and you favor her greatly. Dana and I are here to congratulate you and give you this to help you start your new life with your soon to be husband." He held out a pouch of money, dropping it into Melody's open hand.

"Thank you! That's very generous." Melody looked at the pouch in disbelief, opening it up to see at least two gold pieces and quite a few silver and copper pieces. "Wow! Are you certain you want to give me all of this?" She asked, she knew that it must have been several months of savings for them.

"Of course my dear. Your mother would have wanted you to have it." Dana soothed. She looked around, "You best be off my dear, it looked like you were in a rush."

Melody started, remembering that she was looking for Soris.

"Oh, right! Thank you so much!" She said, surprising the two with a quick hug before she ran off again. She found Soris much quicker than she expected, finding him talking to their friend Arros.

"Soris! Arros!" She called as she ran up to them. They both smiled at her, though Soris's smile looked more like a pained grimace.

"Hello Melody, it doesn't look like you're struck by the same nerves as Soris here. He's been trying to come up with ways to ditch the wedding all morning." Arros laughed. Melody giggled as well, she didn't doubt that her cousin would try to do just that.

"Well, I don't blame him. I'm not exactly looking forward to being tied down just yet either. But I'm not going to run just yet. I still have to meet the man." She crossed her arms and turned to look at the sheepish Soris. "Now, you and I have to go get ready before we get into trouble." Soris nodded and the two bid Arros farewell, walking towards Soris's house in companionable silence.

"What do you think they're doing?" Soris suddenly asked, pointing towards a trio of two human men and one male dwarf. Melody frowned.

"I don't know, but let's tell them to get lost before they make any trouble." She steered Soris towards the group despite his struggling and protesting.

To Melody's surprise, the dark haired older human crossed his arms and gave a quick bow to them.

"Good day, I understand congratulations are in order for your upcoming wedding." He said, hushing his companions with a hand.

"Thanks." She said in surprise before remembering why she and Soris came over in the first place. "I would appreciate if you three would please leave so we may avoid any unpleasantness." She said, watching him cautiously. He and the Dwarf were both armed to the teeth and she wasn't, the other man also looked like a mage, which made her want to inquire about an old friend that had been taken to the tower, but she was more concerned about the group causing more problems.

The man crossed his arms and looked down at her in amusement. "Oh? What manner of unpleasantness are you speaking of?"

Melody scowled at him and at the blonde who was looking entirely to delighted with the conversation.

"The allienge just isn't a good place for humans, or dwarves, to be. Especially during celebrations." She tried to explain.

"Well, I'm sorry to hear that, but I have no intention of leaving just yet." The man said again. Melody gritted her teeth and tried to think of a way to get the group to leave without resorting to fighting, while she wasn't afraid of a fight, she wasn't stupid and even she could see that she and Soris were severely out matched.

"Then would you come to a compromise?" She ground out. Soris shifted uncomfortably next to her. The man just smiled and his eyes shifted to look at something behind her.

"She keeps her composure, even when facing down a group of unknown and armed men. A true gift, wouldn't you say Valendrian?" He asked. Soris choked and Melody spun around in surprise, only to see the elder Valendrian walking up behind them.

"I would say the world has more use for those who know how to stay their blades, and their tongs." Valendrian pointedly looked to Melody at the last part. He came to shake the man's hand. "It's good to see you my friend, it has been entirely too long since your last visit."

Melody looked at the two in disbelief. "Are these friends of yours, Elder?" She asked.

Valendrian smiled, "I would like to introduce you to Duncan, he is a Grey Warden and an old friend of mine." He then turned to Duncan. "But who are your friends Duncan?"

"These are some of my newest recruits, Duran Aeducan and Dylan Amell." He introduced the two. Duran put a hand over his chest and bowed his head, his face serious. Dylan flourished his hands dramatically and bowed low

"Tis a pleasure, simply a pleasure." He said, winking at Melody who stared at him oddly. She was not entirely sure what to make of this human.

"Now, don't think I didn't notice that you've been avoiding me and my question, Duncan. What are you doing here?" Valendrian cut in, clearly ready to have his question answered.

"I'm sure you've heard about the blight in the south? I've come recruiting, we need as many people as we can get."

Melody's eyes widened and narrowed in on Duncan. Valendrian must have seen her eagerness because he cut across her before she could say anything.

"I see. Unfortuantly you've come at an awkward time, my friend. We are about to have two weddings, today in fact."

Duncan nodded his understanding. "So I see. Don't worry about me for now, my companions and I can wait."

Valendrian pursed his lips and nodded, turning to Melody and Soris. "for now, treat these three as my guests. Now if you would, please take your places." He strode away. Melody and Soris turned back to the trio.

"I'm very sorry for my misunderstanding. Please, attend the wedding, there will be food and drink afterwards." She invited before letting Soris drag her away.

"I cant believe we just met some Wardens." Soris breathed.

"The head Warden and some recruits." Melody corrected.

Soris nodded, "right, well, lets take our spots, I only wish we could have met our intendeds before this."

"Melody! Melody! Oh, dear maker, what have I done!" Shianni yelled as she ran up to them looking pale and worried.

"What's wrong Shianni?" Melody asked in concern. Shianni looked around.

"I was greeting your intendeds when some humans came in, drunk and talking a bunch of shit. And i… oh, I hit the leader over the head with a jug of water and knocked him out!" Shianni moaned, sinking down to the ground and putting her hands over her face. Soris and Melody looked at each other in surprise before crouching down.

"Calm down sister, you've done this before. What makes this time so different?" Soris questioned. Shianni groaned and peaked up at them

"What's different this time is that the leader was the Arl's son!" Soris gasped and Melody's jaw dropped.

"Shianni! How could you?!" Soris groaned, looking to Melody in fear.

"I let my temper get the better of me and I didn't recognize him." Shianni admitted.

Melody soothed her hair back to try and calm her down. "Well, we'll just have to keep an eye out for now. Hopefully they were so drunk they won't remember."

Shianni bit her lip, "You think that's possible?"

'Knowing our luck, no.' is what Melody wanted to say, but instead said, "Of course. Now, it's time for the wedding, so let's take our places." She said, helping Shianni back onto her feet.

The three walked over to the stage where a very handsome young man stood nervously with a timid looking woman. Melody took a deep breath and marched over to him confidently,

"Hello, I'm Melody, you must be my intended, Nelaros." She introduced herself. Nelaros smiled at her.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you. Are you nervous?" He asked her, despite his happy face, his eyes betrayed his own nerves.

"Yes." Melody stated bluntly, surprising him and the girl next to him. "I'm not entirely sure I want to be married." She studied him and smiled, "But I think I can learn to like it." She sighed, winking at him to let him know she was not trying to be mean.

He laughed, "I am glad, I am nervous too, but already you have calmed me down." He gestured to the woman next to him. "This is Valora, she is your cousin's intended."

Melody nodded politely to the timid looking girl, but was unable to say anything as the chantry mother walked up to the stage and started the ceremony.

She didn't get very far when the Arl's son and several other men barged through the crowd and up the stairs.

"Sorry Mother, but we're having a party and are short some female guests. But what do you know, here are some pretty ones who are already all dressed up for us." He said, leering at Melody and the other women around.

"This is a wedding mi lord!" The mother screeched.

"Ha! Don't pretend this is a proper wedding." The man Guffawed. He looked to his men.

"Now, we're just here for a good time with the ladies, aren't we boys?" He sneered, his men leering and grabbing two of the women. "Now, where's the bitch that bottled me?" He asked, his eyes landing on Shianni and quicker than she was able to dodge, he grabbed her.

"Hey! Let them go!" Melody shouted at him, stepping forward, her eyes flashing angrily. The men quieted down and turned to look at her.

"Now, here's a lovely feisty beauty." The Arls son growled. "Grab her too." He said. Melody ducked the arms of the man who tried to grab her, punching him in the gut and grabbing his head when he bent over in pain and smashing it into her knee.

"Melody behi-" she heard Soris start to yell before she felt a sharp pain on the side of her head and she blacked out.

Melody groaned as she started to come around again, she could still feel a sharp pain across her temple and could immediately tell that someone had hit her in order to knock her out.

"Oh, thank the maker you've woken up! We were worried for a moment the man hit you to hard." She heard Shianni say. Melody blinked a couple times, willing her eyes to clear up before she sat up.

"Uggg, where are we?" She looked around at the four others with her, she could see Valora, Shianni, Shavera and two other unknown girls in the room with her.

"Where else? In the Arls estate, though its certainly not for a tour." Shianni answered with a small, forced laugh.

"They locked us in here till they are ready for us." Valora whispered fearfully. Melody nodded, she figured as much. She looked around, and saw that there wasn't really anything in the room they could use for their defense.

"Well, don't make anything easy for them, but don't get killed either." She told them as she slowly clamored to her feet. "I'm going to think of a way to get us out of this mess."

All five girls jumped when the door burst open with a bang and several men came in.

"'ello wenches, we're your escorts for the night." The guard in the front sneered. Shavera, who had been fervently praying stood up and screeched,

"Stay away from us!" Melody grimaced when the man just scoffed and quickly swung his blade, slicing through her chest and killing her.

"Any more protests?" He asked pleasantly. The others shook their heads, their eyes wide.

"Wonderful, you take the cowering flower, Horace and I'll take the homely bride and the drunk, and you two will bind the last one, she's the scrapper." He instructed. Melody backed up as the other three were led away, leaving two of the guards to creep closer to her. Melody got into a fighting stance, but before she needed to do anything, she saw Soris standing in the door with two short swords over his shoulder and holding a sword.

"Soris?" She asked in disbelief. The two guards turned to look at him.

"Wha-, he's armed!" Guard one said, reaching for his weapon. But instead of brandishing his weapon, Soris slid it across the floor to her. Melody lunged for it and plunged it into the second guard before he had a chance to parry the blow. She ducked under Guard one's sword, rolled forward and jumped up in time to cut his head clean off his shoulders. Melody grimaced at the sight before turning and running over to Soris.

"What are you doing here? Where did you get these weapons?" She asked. Soris looked around and quickly beckoned her to follow him.

"The Grey Warden and his Dwarven companion lent Nelaros and I a few weapons to come in here and save you all. They said they would have come if it wasn't such a risk." Melody nodded before staring at Soris in surprise,

"Neleros came?" She asked. Soris nodded and explained

"Yes, he's keeping watch just around this corner."

The two raced around the corner only to skid to a halt, in the middle of the hall, standing over Neleros's dead body, were three guards. The five of them stared at each other for a few moments before Melody let out an angry cry and rushed to attack them.

"Get them!" one of the guards cried.

"Soris, take the left." Melody called as she brought her sword up to block a blow from one guard, dropping down low and sweeping his feet out from under him. She finished her turn and let the momentum launch herself at the second man, their blades clanging together several times before she managed to get in close and disarm his sword, before slitting his neck and turning back to the man she had tripped who had managed to stumble back to his feet. And dodged his sword, they slowly circled each other before Melody lunged again, pushing him hard until he left an opening in both his armor and his stance and sliced his chest open. Unfortunately she turned her back on the man, not realizing that she had quite killed him.

"Melody!" Soris shouted a warning before throwing his short sword like a dagger, barely missing her cheek before she heard it hit its mark. She spun around to see the man had tried to attack her with her back turned, but Soris had managed to throw the sword into his neck. She blinked in disbelief, turning back to Soris who looked equally surprised.

"You never told me you could do that!" She exclaimed at the same time Soris blurted

"Wow, I didn't think that'd work!"

The two stared at eachother.

"You mean you were just taking a chance? What if you got me instead?" Melody asked, aghast at the thought. Soris just shrugged and smiled sheepishly.

"But it didn't, did it?"

Melody just groaned and looked down at Nelaros's body. She scowled and crouched down beside him, noticing that his left hand was curled around something. She opened it and looked at it in dismay when she saw two wedding bands there, one clearly male and the other one female.

"Oh, Nelaros." She sighed, grabbing them and slipping them onto her right ring finger. She wasn't entirely sure what to think about him dying since just this morning she didn't even want to meet him, but now, now that she knew that he was the type of person to try and help someone he barely knew despite the fact that it could be a huge risk, made her wish that they had been able to get to know each other.

She stood up and started to March away, "Come on Soris, let's go save the others." She watched diligently as they passed through several rooms, they didn't get into any more fights since everyone just thought they were servants and didn't look closely enough to see the blood on them.

"Do you even know where you're going?" Soris asked after they came to their second dead end. Melody turned to him in irritation.

"What do you think? I've never exactly been here before." The two were about to start arguing when they heard Shianni cry out.

"Stop! Please, Stop!" She sobbed.

They both spun around and sprinted to the largest door in the Hall, where they heard her voice coming from. Melody slammed into the door, forcing it to fly open, her sword already flying through the air to cut down the two men that were laughing at Shianni's broken form on the ground.

After she dealt with them she knelt down to Shianni, ignoring Soris who was viscously slashing at the Arl's surprised son.

"It'll be okay, I'm here, Soris is here, we're taking you home." Melody whispered to Shianni, helping to straighten her dress and make her decent again.

"I wanna go home, take me home." Shianni whimpered, Once Soris was finished killing the Arls Son he came over and hovered over the two of them.

Melody looked up to him, "go find the others." She told him softly, Soris nodded, looking glad to have something to do and went to look in some of the side rooms.

"I'm going to pick you up now, okay Shianni?" Melody asked. Shianni nodded, looking at her so brokenly that Melody's heart broke for her. "on three then, one, two, three!" she lifted her cousin bridle style, being as smooth as she could. She looked up, relieved to see that Soris had found the other two and that they looked no worse for the wear.

"Are you two okay?" She asked, "Did they touch you?"

Valora shook her head. "No, they started with…" She trailed off and looked at Shianni sorrowfully, but not saying anything. Melody nodded.

"Good, that's good. Let's get out of here." She muttered and turned to Soris. "Can you lead us out of here?"

Soris nodded, "yes, Neleros and I came through the Servents passage. It's not far from here." He voiced before leading them all back to the alienage. They had only just stepped back in the allianage when they encountered Valendrian and the Grey Wardens.

"You're back! Oh thank goodness." Valendrian sighed in relief before he noticed the two who were missing and his face twisted in concern. "Where's Shavera? And Nelaros?" he asked. Melody just shook her head, starting when the human Dylan came forward, concern on his face.

"If any of you are injured, I am a healer." He said. Melody looked down to Shianni who still had her face buried in her neck.

"Shianni? Would you be alright having a man check you over?"

Valora walked over to put a comforting hand on her arm, "if you would like, I'll stay to make sure he doesn't do anything you don't want." She offered.

Shianni sniffed and nodded, shifting to be let down. Melody dropped her feet, but kept an arm around her to steady her.

"Yes I-I would like to be checked over." She looked to Valora and grimaced, "would you stay with me?" She asked.

Valora didn't even hesitate to agree. Shianni then turned to Melody, "Could we use you're house?"

Melody also agreed, anything to make her cousin feel safer. Dylan came closer, but stayed far enough away to keep Shianni calm before turning to Duncan.

"I'll be right back." He stated. Duncan nodded his understanding as the trio made their way to Melody's house. Valendrian turned to Soris and Melody and asked

"Now, what happened?"

"The Arls son is dead." Melody stated bluntly. She could she Duran nod his approval, but Duncan and Valendrian looked alarmed.

"Then you have little time before the Garrison show up." Duncan warned. Melody dipped her head in agreement.

"I'll figure something out, I always do." Melody said softly. Just then the other woman that Melody still didn't know her name gasped and pointed,

"The Guards are here!" She then turned and scurried away. The remaining group turned to meet the on coming group of guards.

"Let us see what comes of this." Valendrian said. They watched as the group came to a halt in front of them.

"I seek Valendrian, the elder and administrator of the alienage." The Captain announced. Valendrian stepped forward.

"Here, Captain. I assume you are here in regards to the disruption today?" He asked.

"Don't play ignorant with me, elder. Justice will be had." The Guard growled. "The arl's son lies dead in a river of blood that flows throughout the entire estate! I demand names!"

Before anyone could say anything, Melody stepped forward. "It was my doing, sir." She said.

Everyone stared at her in disbelief.

"You expect me to believe one woman did all of that?" The Captain asked. Melody crossed her arms, her face sour.

"I don't expect you to believe anything, but it still stands that I did it to save myself and my friends."

The captain sighed but nodded, "you have saved many lives by coming forward. I don't envy your fate, but I applaud your courage. You'll wait in the dungeon until the Arl returns. The rest of you, return to your houses. "

Duncan stepped forward then. "Captain, a word if you please."

The Captain turned to regard him, "Yes, Warden?"

"I hereby conscript this young woman into the Wardens. I am removing this woman into my custody." Duncan declared.

"You can do that?" Melody asked no one in particular. The Captain pursed his lips, but looked resigned.

"I cannot protest your rights, but I do ask that you get this elf out of the city, today." He said before signaling the others to leave with him.

The group watched them leave before Soris gave a laugh in disbelief and hugged her.

"Thank you, for not giving me away." Melody hugged him back.

"Of course, cousin dear, you're my family, and family sticks together." She said. She heard Duran snort in disbelief, but ignored him for the moment.

"I'll let you say you're goodbyes, but then we must leave. I still have one more place to get to before we head down to Ostegar." Duncan said before turning to Duran, "Come with me Duran, we should stock up before we leave."

Melody watched the two leave before turning back to Soris.

"What will you do now?" she asked curiously.

"I plan to settle down with Valora. I think being married will be a lot better than I thought. But I'm staying out of trouble from now on." He swore. Melody grinned and pat his back.

"I'm happy for you. Keep your chin up and keep an eye on Shianni for me. I love you and I'll miss you." She hugged him tightly.

"I'll miss you too. It'll be really quiet without you to stir things up." He said, pulling back and walking away.

"This will be good for you, I think." Valendrian stated, bringing her attention to him. "You are such an adventurous soul, I was afraid you would wither away if you were forced to stay in one spot, much like you're mother."

Melody smiled sadly at the mention of her mother. "I'm not always sure. I hope she would be proud of me."

"She is, no doubt. She always knew you would be destined for greater things than just sitting in the alienage. I will miss you my dear, don't forget to come back and visit." He said before also leaving. Melody stood for a few moments before leaving to find Shianni.

When she walked into her house, she immediately saw Valora standing nervously next to Dylan, who was in the middle of casting a spell over Shianni. Melody watched in awe as the cuts and bruises all started to fade.

"Wow, that's awesome." She stated. Dylan smiled at her before turning back to Shianni.

"You'll all good and healed, you might experience some bleeding, but I've healed all the major damage and most of the minor damage. I'm also going to prescribe you a tonic to help with any panic attacks you have over the next few days and you also don't have to worry about being pregnant with the bastard's child." He diagnosed, digging through his pack and pulling out a few vials and several herbs, walking over to the corner table to put together the tonics.

Melody sat down on the bed next to her looking her over. "Are you going to be okay?" She asked. Shianni nodded and gave her a weak smile.

"Of course, nothing keeps me down for long, and the healer helped a lot." She said.

Melody smiled and said, "I'm glad, I came to tell you goodbye, I've been conscripted into the wardens and we have to leave tonight."

Shianni laughed, "Good for you. Finally getting what you always dreamed about as a kid. I'll miss you."

Melody nodded and gave a small kiss on her cheek, "I'll miss you too."

She got up and stood aside as Dylan gave Shianni and Valora instructions for the tonics before walking with Melody out the door.

"So, you're joining our merry little band of misfits are you?" He asked. Melody nodded, eyeing him warily when he started chuckling to himself, "It makes me think of the beginning of a joke where a dwarf, an elf, and a human walked into a bar."

Melody snorted. "I suppose, that leaves a wide range of things to joke about though."

Dylan nodded and laughed, "it does. Well, lets go find the other two and be on our way, if I heard right, you're to be out of the city by night."

Melody nodded and followed Dylan the rest of the way.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: don't own DA**

**A/N: sorry for the short chapter everyone. Next chapter will be longer. This one isn't beta'd yet either.**

**Chapter 4: Bonding **

The group was quiet as they made their way quickly out of the city, Duncan leading them along the road until it was time to make camp when he led them to a small secluded area just out of sight of the road.

"We'll camp here for the night." Duncan announced, laying down his pack and looked around. Without even being asked, Dylan started to ward the perimeter of the area and Duran started to put together a camp fire. Melody hovered off to the side, unsure of what she should be doing or what her place in this group would be.

"Melody, would you get some water from the stream? It's just a ways that way." Duncan asked, gesturing to his left. Melody agreed, relieved to have something to do and grabbed the dinner pot and every ones water skins before going to look for some water. When she got back, the camp had been fully set up and the other two recruits were both busy, Duran was sharpening his weapons and Dylan was taking inventory of his herbs and tonics, but she couldn't see Duncan.

"Where did Duncan go?" She asked curiously, putting the large pot carefully over the fire before giving everyone's water skins back.

"He went to see if he could catch some hares for dinner." Dylan answered after a moment, looking up from his things. Melody just blinked and looked between the men, wondering if she should try to talk to them or just sit and wait for Duncan. Eventually she decided to sit next to Dylan.

"What are you doing?" She questioned, looking at the many herbs that he had laid out with vials, both empty and full.

"I'm figuring out what potions I have and what I need to make as well as taking inventory of the herbs I have." He explained. Melody watched curiously as her counted out five of a group of herbs before binding them together and putting them to the side.

"Why are you doing that?" She picked up one of the bundles to look at the herbs closely. They looked like the same plant, but she didn't have enough knowledge about plants to know exactly what one.

"So I know how many I have. Each bundle has five because it's easier to bundle up a smaller number than having a bunch of loose herbs as you wait to get a hold of ten. Any herbs I have that don't have five, I'll use to make health potions or salves with. I'm doing this now because I might not have time to later." Dylan told Melody who watched curiously as he pulled out a mortar and started to mix things together.

Melody watched for a few moments before Duncan strode back into camp, three hares in his hands. He sat down and started to skin them, but watching unsettled Melody so she decided to go over to Duran who was sheathing his sword and several of his daggers.

"What kind of experience do you have fighting?" Duran asked before Melody could even start to open her mouth to ask something. She blinked in surprise before thinking about it.

"Not a lot, I admit. My mother taught me how to use bows, which I'm most skilled in using, but I also have a bit of talent using twin daggers. As far as real fights go, mostly just what happened in the Arls estate." She scowled when she realized she didn't actually have a lot of fighting experience, but Duran looked surprised and pleased.

"Well, for what little experience you have, you were able to take down quite a few trained men with relative ease from what I heard. You have a lot of raw talent. Up you get, I want a quick spar." He said, clamoring to his feet. Melody watched him with disbelief.

"Now?" She squeaked, scrambling to her own feet. She looked over to Duncan who was watching in amusement while he continued to work on dinner, then to Dylan who was also watching them in growing amusement.

"Now is a good a time as any other lass." Duran said. Melody grabbed her daggers that they had purchased on their way out of Denerim and stood anxiously across from Duran who had grabbed his sword and waited for his commands. "Now, we're just going to do a light spar, we're not trying to injure each other, just get you used to fighting people. We'll start out slow and get faster as we go. I'll give you advice as we go." He said.

"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" Melody asked, eyeing him nervously.

Duran barked out a laugh, "Lass, I was about to become the commander of Ostegars army when I joined the wardens, I know how to train people." This calmed Melody down and she fell into the familiar stance that her mother had trained her to use. "When you're ready." Duran stated, waiting for Melody.

She watched him closely, trying to think of a good way to attack before she decided to just launch into an attack like she did at the estate. Duran's blade came up to catch her daggers and he started to fight back with much more talent than the Arl's guards had. Melody quickly found herself disarmed, with Duran's sword resting lightly next to her color bone.

"Well, if you had caught me by surprise that would have been much more effective. Also, you start to forget your stance after your first two attacks, you need to remember to keep it or it'll be easy to break your guard, and you'll leave more openings for attacks to get through." Duran lectured, switching his sword for some of his daggers before standing next to her, taking a similar stance. "Now, we're going to go through some stances and we'll work on them every night before doing a quick spar."

Melody nodded, while she was disappointed she hadn't lasted longer, she was pleased she could finally finish learning how to fight with her twin daggers properly.

While the two of them worked on stances, Dylan joined Duncan in helping with dinner.

"So, where are we headed to next, oh illustrious leader?" he asked.

"The Brazilian forest," He answered, not looking away from the stew, "The Wardens have received word of a magical mirror that were used for communication. Over time, some of them simply break and many become tainted with the same taint that the darkspawn have. It is my fear that this mirror has become tainted, and so we are going to check on it."

Dylan hummed in thought, watching as Duran started to drill Melody on the stances she had just learned. "It sounds like an eluvium." He finally said, receiving an intrigued look from Duncan.

"You know about them?" he asked.

Dylan shrugged, "Not a lot, they're tavinter in origin, but you're correct in that all of the mirrors are connected to each other. If you could find one that works, you would theoretically be able to not just communicate with people at the other mirrors, but actually travel between them. So I can see how if the darkspawn managed to taint one mirror, the others would all eventually be tainted as well."

Duncan pursed his lips in thought before grabbing everyone's bowls and calling everyone to eat. Dylan laughed loudly as Melody practically collapsed next to Duncan while Duran just calmly took his own bowl and sat down, hardly even winded.

"Slave driver!" Melody panted. The three men just laughed.

"Lass, it wasn't that bad, I could have had you doing intense workouts as well, but you're no warrior so you lucked out." Duran said, his brown eyes twinkling in amusement. Melody just grumbled and started to eat her own dinner,

"Don't know why you're laughing, Dylan. It's not like you've had to do a hard work out ever."

Dylan just shrugged, "As a mage living in the circle, no I haven't." he agreed. Duran and Duncan shared a look and seemed to come to an agreement.

"That will be something that will be changed." Duncan stated, turning to him. "Starting tomorrow, I think Duran and I shall trade off with you and Melody for training. While he trains Melody in her stances and gets her ready for battle, I'll start you on some basic body conditioning and then the next day, we'll switch." He said. Dylan stopped laughing and looked between him and Duran in slight disbelief and no little amount of apprehension while Melody laughed at him.

"How do you expect to train me in battle with my magic? I doubt you've ever encountered a magic user while in Orzammar." Dylan asked.

Duran snorted, I've fought a few Darkspawn magic users, mostly we concentrated on taking them out first because they can be nasty buggers when by themselves, but I plan on training you in close combat situations. You're staff seems sturdy enough to take some hits so I'll teach you to use it as a weapon as well. Might even teach you to use a dagger." Duran mused, eyeing Dylan thoughtfully.

"Duran is correct, there might be instances where you'll find yourself without the ability to use your magic and you'll need to defend yourself. And the conditioning will help your endurance as well as your strength."

Dylan nodded, he remembered the struggle he had pushing the huge bookcase aside, and grinned.

"Alright, sounds like a plan to me."

Melody also agreed, "I agree, it will be useful in the long run especially if we're meant to fight in a battle in two weeks."

Duncan looked at them with approval, "Good, I'll also be working on your stealth skills, Melody. You make a good rogue and we should make sure you can be the best one you can be." He added.

Duran nodded, "that's a good idea, the lass will be unstoppable if she can sneak up on her foes."

That seemed to end the conversation as they all finished eating and cleaning up. Duncan taught Melody how watches worked and what to look for as well as how to tell when it was time to wake the next person up during their shared watch before sleeping for the night.

The next couple of days were tough on both Melody and Dylan as their muscles started to build up through the difficult training Duncan and Duran pushed them through. Every night they would immediately crash for the night after their training and dinner was done and they didn't budge until morning when they were woken up for breakfast. After that, they spent the day traveling at a quick but steady pace. It took them a week to get to the Brazilian forest and two more days of searching to find the ruins that Duncan was told the mirror would be in.

To the group's surprise, and Duncan's alarm, just outside of the ruins was a petite female Dalish elf, her tanned skin looked deathly pale and her veins were standing out, Duncan ordered the group to set up camp a safe distance away from the ruins and to stay alert before picking up the Dalish and running in the opposite direction.

"Well, we better do as he says. Don't let down you're guard, Duncan looked too alarmed for the lass to have been attacked by bandits. If it was darkspawn, don't let them bleed on you and try not to get cut by them." Duran ordered as Melody and Dylan started to make a small camp. They seemed to just wordlessly agree that Duran was the leader, after all, he was older and had more experience leading and fighting than either of them did.

The group waited anxiously for Duncan to come back, Duran paced while Melody stood crouched, listening intently to their surroundings. Dylan spent time warding their surroundings before checking the over.

"This is worse than the feeling I got before my Harrowing. And trust me, the feeling that a demon will be trying to hunt you down and try to possess you is not the best feeling ever." He grumbled. Melody paused and turned to stare at him.

"They feed you to the demons?" She asked incredulously.

"Sort of. It's a test that fully realized mages must go through, every test takes place in the fade so each one is different. But yes, they pretty much feed the mages to the demons to see if they can resist being possessed." Dylan explained, not caring he just broke about ten different rules about not telling people about the Harrowing.

Duran grunted, "Always knew you all were insane."

Dylan laughed, "Yes, we're all cracked, some of us more than others." And like that, the tension in the group was broke. While they were still vigilant, they were no longer worked up. They went about their business as usual until Duncan reappeared, one elf short.

"Is she alright?" Melody asked immediately. Duncan hesitated for a moment, mulling over his answer before saying,

"For now, she is alive. Her Keeper was able to push the taint back." Duran looked up at him in alarm.

"She's tainted? And you let her live?" He asked in disbelief. Duncan nodded.

"Yes, I did. Her Keeper has some strong magic that was able to push the taint back. It's still there, but should she live through this, I plan to recruit her. If she becomes a Warden, it will cure the taint." He explained.

"Woah, woah, woah! You mean there's magic out there that can help suppress the taint? I want to learn that!" Dylan burst out. The three turned to look at him and he just looked back, "What? I'm a healer, it's my specialization. Not to mention in our line of work it might help out." He pointed out.

Melody just grinned widely as the other two shook their heads.

"What's the plan Duncan?" Duran asked. Duncan scanned the area briefly before making his decision.

"We'll camp here for tonight, Melody and Dylan aren't going to do training today, we will need them both to be able to wake up quickly and to take watch tonight. Keep your weapons close to you." Duncan ordered as they got ready to bunk down for the night.


End file.
